Wolfbite
by Anonymous XXIII
Summary: Denzel, now a teenager, does his best to be a good son: he have good grades and helps Tifa with her work at the bar, but he have problems of his own and don't really know how to deal with them, so he hides it from Tifa, only making her worry. His problems doubles when an old threat rises again and take interest in him. Denzel centric story, about six years after AC. Denzel x OC
1. Chapter 1

Be kind to me, english is my second language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of the characters.

* * *

He was bored. Denzel kept tapping his pencil on the math book, being on school all day was hard enough, why did the teachers had to give homework too?

The teen put the pencil down and rubbed his eyes, making the piercing on his left eyebrow inch a little. Then, he got the new motorcycle magazine he had bought and laid on his bed, not before he threw all the clothing on the floor, along with the other magazines. He did not cared if he still had his shoes on; he just putted his feet over the old green and messy duvet.

Over the years, Denzel decorated his room with posters of rock bands, motorcycles and movies. His cloths were scattered all over the floor and his magazines piled by the side of his desk, he never discarded any of then and cleaned his room once a week, except his bed. That thing was always messy, Marlene used to fix it, but she wasn't around anymore.

On the other side of the bed, learning against the wall, were his most valuable possessions: his gunblade sword and materia belt, both presents he got from the AVALANCHE members in his fifteenth birthday.

The materia and the belt he got from Yuffie, who cheerfully said that you never know when you need it. The gunblade sword was a gift from all the members. The beautiful grey-green weapon was WRO top technology, a sword with a large and long blade with a trigger on the handle. Denzel adored it.

After an hour. The boy heard his name being called. He dropped the magazine on the floor and jumped off the bed, the harsh movement made him wince. Rolling up the left sleeve from his dark grey shirt, he saw a big and nasty bruise around a gash. He hadn't noticed the wound would be that bad.

_'__Guess that happens when you're hit with a copper pipe…_' He rolled the sleeve back, deciding to deal with it later.

Denzel hurried down the stairs to meet Tifa, who had a tray with two bottles of Corel Wine, one of tequila and a few glasses on her hands.

"Sorry sweetie. Were you too busy?" the barmaid knew Denzel was probably studying before answering her call.

"Nope, just chilling out" the fifteen year old tied his apron, which had the label of the 7th Heaven stamped, and peeped the bar across the door. "Full house tonight?"

"Chocobo Race night. We won't have rest until the very end of it" she gave him the tray "Take the orders and serve the drinks. I'll take care of the kitchen."

"I'm on it."

The 7th Heaven had many regular customers, but always a mess when battles and chocobo races were broadcasted live from the Gold Saucer. Tifa couldn't take care of everything on her own, even in the most tranquil days, so Denzel helped during the weeknights and the weekends, most for the barmaid frustration. She didn't had money to hire an employee, not even with Cloud's earning from his delivery business, so her adopted son had to help her around most of the time.

To compensate for his hard work, Tifa allowed Denzel keep the tips and gave him a monthly allowance, which the boy spent it on CDs, magazines and his cellphone bill. She and Cloud also spared part of their income on savings for Denzel's schooling, even after Reeve promised that he would pay for his college.

Reeve's exact words were: 'If you exceed in your studies, WRO will employ you and pay for your collage'. He said that to Denzel and Tifa in the kid's first day in high school.

That was all the incentive the boy needed. It was no secret that Denzel desired to be a WRO agent in the future, he wouldn't let this chance scape. His grades were excellent, Tifa was very proud of her little boy, it pained her a little seeing him growing up so quickly.

In the end of the night, Denzel had to ask five customers to leave after drinking to much, stop three fights and throw seven clients out for starting it. Right now, he was mopping the floor while Tifa was cleaning the tables.

Tifa looked up to the boy.

"Go to sleep, Denzel. It's almost two in the morning."

"Not until we are finished."

"You have school tomorrow"

"No, I don't" he grinned "Tomorrow is Saturday".

Tifa wanted to facepalm herself after that. How could she forget? Chocobo Races were on Fridays, the battles were on Tuesdays. She just had been tired lately, she would forget simple thing sometimes. Three days ago, she left the coffee maker on for two hours, it almost made the powder catch on fire. Maybe she should start closing the bar a little earlier on weekdays, so she and Denzel could sleep more.

The barmaid noticed how Denzel would flinch sometimes when he lifted the bucket with his left hand. Shortly after, she saw a dark stain on his shirt. She walked to him and extended

"Denzel, give me your arm" she ordered. The boy hesitated "Now"

With no choice, he extended his left arm to her. Tifa grabbed it and pulled his sleeve up, the boy winced a little when he felt the rough material rub the wound so abruptly, making it bleed again. The woman's eyes went wide when she saw the gash and the bruise around it.

"How did this happen? Why didn't you said something?"

"I fell." He answered without taking his eyes off hers.

She sighed and took him to the kitchen. Then, she grabbed a first aid kit and started tending his wound after they both sited on two chairs, one in front of another. Tifa had noticed how Denzel 'fell' a lot. He was good at hiding it, but sometimes she would see a black eye hidden behind his hair, a cut on his lip, other times he arrived home limping a little. His excuses were usually: 'I fell', 'A bicycle hit me', or 'had an accident while training', none of them were enough for Tifa believe in.

"Denzel" the teen looked up to her. She putted her hand on his cheek and stroked it kindly "If there was something wrong with you, you would tell me, right?"

Denzel held her hand and smiled "Of course, Teef. I would never hide anything from you".

Tifa smiled back and stroked his hair before sending him to bed. Her composure fell apart after she failed to hear her son's footsteps. She grabbed a glass of water to calm down, deciding she would talk to Cloud about it when he came back.

She wiped a tear. Denzel's smile was a fake one. He had lied to her.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the follows and favs

And thank you, BloodyAvenger21 for reviewing

Again, sorry for my english and enjoy.

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Denzel sat alone in one of the tables of the school's cafeteria with a brown paper bag in front of him. Opening it, he found a chicken sandwich, a chocolate pudding and a can of soda, which had a note attached to it.

Picking it up, he immediately recognized Tifa's elegant handwriting: 'Good luck with your math test' with a drawing of a heart. The kid smiled and started unpacking his sandwich.

"May I sit with you?" A soft voice asked.

Denzel looked up and hoped he didn't blushed madly when he saw Lucia. The girl had bright honey colored hair, soft and clear skin, and the green shade of her eyes were beautiful. She and Denzel had some classes together, and the boy had a huge crush on her.

"S-sure" Lucia smiled and took a sit in front of him. Her lunch was the day's special: Bean soup, white bread, a bottle of apple juice and strawberry jello.

Denzel didn't noticed that he was staring her until Lucia looked up to him. His gaze went down to his sandwich.

_'__Damn, she's pretty'_ he began eating his lunch praying she didn't thought he was a pervert.

"May I?" She asked pointing to the soda. She had to ask again for Denzel hear her.

"Be my guest"

Lucia extended her arm to get the can. After she took a sip, Denzel took the bottle of juice on her side of the table and, to her surprise, took a long gulp.

He let out a moan and made a face "That's disgusting!"

Lucia started laughing, Denzel joined soon after, feeling a little proud for making her laugh. He stopped when he felt his cellphone vibrate in his pocket. Denzel flipped it open, the screen showed a voice mail. He putted it against his ear, pulling it back slightly when he heard Barret's loud voice.

"_Wazzap, kid? It's Barret! Had an emergency at work, so you gonna have to pick up Marlene after school. I already talked to ya momma. Take care of my little girl, shorty!_"

Denzel putted the phone back in his pocket and started rubbing his ear after the message ended.

"Who was?" Lucia had already started eating her jello.

"A family friend. Gonna have to run an errant for him later."

"Is it a bother?"

"Not at all. He's k- ouch!" Denzel rubbed the back of his head, where a can had hit him. When he turned around, he wasn't surprised to see Rick and his friends laughing at him.

Rick was an old acquaintance of Denzel, they were from the same search team in the sector seven ruins, a work they did with other orphans to get construction material for people when Edge was being build, but a misunderstanding between them made Rick start hating him. To make things worse, Denzel was adopted while Rick remained homeless; he still lived in one of the shelters ShinRa had built.

Rick's gang were responsible for Denzel's wound on his arm, but Rick's nasty black eye was his doing.

Denzel got up, ready to retaliate, but Lucia's hand on his shoulder made him stop.

"Let it go, Denzel." She pulled his arm "Come on, we have class now"

Nodding, he grabbed his backpack and followed her. Before leaving the cafeteria, he stole two plastic spoons from the counter. Denzel pulled the chocolate pudding from the bag and showed to Lucia, who raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Wanna share it?" he asked with a smile.

Lucia smiled back and hit his arm playfully.

XxXxX

Denzel zipped his green jacket up, even if it was November, it was getting cold too soon. The last few days had been rainy, maybe that was the reason for the low temperature.

He kicked one rock inside one of the puddles in the street, making dirty water splash on his combat boots and dark grey jeans. Marlene's school was not far now, after a long thirty minute walk. Denzel didn't minded picking her up, he really liked the girl, he never missed any opportunity to spend time with her.

Three or four years ago, when Barret's work no longer required him to travel around the world hunting oil fields, he bought a house in Edge and took Marlene to live with him. The little girl screamed with joy when he told her they were going to live together again.

Denzel knew how much Barret loved his daughter and how much she missed her beloved father. He felt a little bad when she moved, but never complained, he saw the girl as his little sister and wanted to see her happy. Still, he missed when she tucked under his blankets and curled up against him when it was too cold or when she had a bad dream. He was sure that she had done it a few times because she felt like it.

The memory made him chuckle.

A few minutes later, he could see Marlene sitting on the sidewalk in front of her school, poking the dirt inside a puddle with a stick, completely bored. She wore a chocolate knee-length skirt, a white turtleneck shirt and a pink jacket. Her braided hair was long enough to brush her waist.

"Marlene!" He called when she hadn't noticed him approaching.

The little girl lifted her head to look at him. She smiled widely gave him a bear hug after running to him.

"I missed you, Denzel!"

"Missed you too, midget" He answered hugging her back.

"Hey! I'm not a midget!"

"Yes, you are" It became a hobby for him tease Marlene about her height. She was tall enough to reach his chest.

"Where's daddy?"

"Had an emergency. He won't be able to go home today" Denzel grabbed her hand and started walking "So, you are going to sleep at the bar tonight".

Marlene accompanied Denzel's relaxed pace hopping beside him happily. All the way to the bar, he listened the twelve-year-old girl talk about her day and how she was learning how to cook so her father wouldn't need to buy to go food every day for them.

A few blocks from the Seventh Heaven, Marlene had insisted on Denzel him to carry her on his back. He argued that he already had his backpack with him and he couldn't carry it and her at the same time, but Marlene kept urging the subject.

The discussion ended with him opening the front door with Marlene's arms around his neck while he supported her weight from behind using his arms.

Tifa let out a laugh when she saw the state Denzel was. He had his backpack strapped against his chest; Marlene was piggyback riding him. The weight was too much for him, with made him walk with a crooked back, his face showed his distress.

Marlene hopped off his back and ran to hug Cloud, who was sitting in the counter, eating a small meal. Cloud hugged Marlene and petted her head.

"We are home…" Announced Denzel dropping his bag on the floor and sitting in the nearest table. He looked at Cloud "When did you arrived?"

"A few hours ago, it was a long trip" the blond turned his attention to Marlene "Your father said that you should do your homework before anything else"

"What? That's not fair! I want spend time with you!"

"You can do your homework right here, honey." Tifa filled Cloud's mug with coffee "Denzel can help you with that. Don't you?"

Denzel smiled "Sounds fun".

The afternoon went on slowly. Denzel and Marlene sat on the same table doing their homework. The girl had a few difficulties with some subjects, but Denzel patiently cleared her doubts. Cloud sat near them, doing paperwork for his delivery business and making phone calls to his regulars. At the same time, they chatted about their day. Denzel tried not to, but he ended up telling them about his lunchtime with Lucia, and how he spent his school day with her.

"You know, it's a good sign when a girl hits you"

"Really?" Denzel looked to Cloud, wanting to know if what Tifa said was true.

"I wouldn't know. But if Tifa says so, it must be true"

Denzel grinned widely before turning his eyes back to a copy of the Loveless, which he had to read and write a report. It was just before Tifa putted a plate with some sandwiches and two cups of juices on the table and sat with them.

"So, Denzel… What you want for your birthday?"

"My what?" The teen looked to the barmaid in confusion.

Marlene started giggling.

"Denzel, you silly! Next week it's your birthday!"

Mentally, Denzel did the math. Today was November 14th, his birthday were at November 20th. The two females were right; he would do sixteen in the next week. He had so much in his head that he had forgotten.

"Is there anything you want in special?" Asked Cloud, turning his head to the boy's direction.

Denzel bowed his head and started rubbing his forehead.

"Don't be shy" Tifa encouraged him "You can tell us"

"I…" _'I doesn't want you to spend more money on me'_ "I don't need anything in particular"

It seemed silly, but Denzel never liked to be any bother or trouble to Tifa and Cloud. He knew about the savings for his studies. In his opinion, it was money that could be used for other things, like their marriage. They were engaged for a little more than a year, Cloud had worked hard to buy the ring to Tifa, a beautiful silver band with a small sapphire gem on it.

She was so happy that day. The both were. Denzel never saw Cloud open such a bright smile as the one of the day Tifa said 'Yes'.

"That's alright" Tifa ruffled his hair "We will figure something out"

"But you will have a party and a big cake!" said Marlene with a high-pitched voice while she rose up on the chair. "I'll bake a delicious one for you!"

"You can cook?" Cloud seemed interested.

"Not yet… I'm still learning" Marlene's voice was shy.

"I'd love to taste some of your food one day" the girl smile and blushed a little. Then, Cloud turned to Denzel "I'll help with the bar tonight, you can stay with Marlene."

"Are you sure? Didn't you just finished a long trip?"

"Yeah, but I already slept a bit"

Denzel was not convinced. Something was off, he couldn't say what, but there was something wrong. Did Cloud wanted him away for some reason?

That thought was interrupted when Marlene pulled his jacket.

"Come on, Denzel! I want to spend time with you!"

The teen began gathering his things. "Okay, then. C'mon, midget, I still have that board game you like"

"I'm not a midget!" exclaimed Marlene as she followed Denzel upstairs.

"Yes, you are"

"Awww! You meanie!"

Cloud waited until he was sure that neither Denzel nor Marlene could hear him and Tifa talking. His conversation with her was interrupted when the kids arrived earlier.

"What you wanted to talk about?"

"It's Denzel. There is something strange about him" Tifa took a sit in front of Cloud "He injured himself last friday, a cut and a bruise on his forearm. He said he fell, but that wound could not be result of such thing. And… It wasn't the first time he got home injured and gave a lame excuse."

"He also seems to hide something. Two weeks ago, I went to his room to ask if he wanted to practice swordplay a bit. The door was locked." Cloud folded his arms "The way he fights changed a bit, too. He is more aggressive, more confident to attack."

"Maybe he finally lost his fear of hurting you."

"That's not it. His attitude in battle changed. It is like… Like he learned how to face real danger"

Tifa lowered her gaze "He is taking more time to come home when he goes out alone. I found strange mud and small tears in his cloths. Sometimes there is some small blood stains."

Cloud could hear the hurt on her voice. It was hard for him too, to accept that Denzel was hiding something from them. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it a bit.

"Let's give him some space while keeping an eye on him. I'm sure he will eventually talk to us about what is bothering him."

Tifa looked up to Cloud and gave him a weak smile. "You are right… We need to trust him."

XxXxXx

It couldn't be helped. He got ready to sleep two hours ago, at ten-thirty, now it was half past midnight and he wasn't tired. He was used to sleep late and wake up early; having a night off wouldn't change that.

Denzel moaned and putted his copy of the Loveless on his bed-table. He could tell that the bar had closed because there was no more music coming from downstairs; Tifa and Cloud were probably cleaning up now. He wanted to go there and give them a hand, but he also knew they would not allow it.

Deciding to forget it, he turned to turn off the lamp. That was the moment Marlene opened his door and peeked him. Marlene was supposed to be asleep at the guestroom, which was Cloud's old bedroom and office. He didn't needed it anymore, he now shared a room with Tifa, so he turned it to his office and eventual guestroom.

"Something wrong?"

"No, it's just…" Marlene stuttered a bit, "I can sleep with you? Like we used to?"

Denzel chuckled while he moved a little to the left.

"Come here, midget."

Marlene smiled and ran to the bed. Denzel turned off the light after she curled up against him. She fell asleep after a few minutes, but he took another half an hour to do so.

XxXxXx

Cloud emerged into the bedroom drying his blond spikes with a towel. Tifa was sitting on the bed, brushing her long dark hair. He putted the towel aside, got on the bed and crawled up to her. When he reached her, he began kissing the nape of her neck while stroking her arms. His touch made her shiver.

"Cloud…" Tifa moaned as he moved her to lie on her back.

"I missed you so much, Teef…" he trailed kissed down her throat "So much…"

"Are you sure you want to do this? Marlene is here… What if-?"

"Just checked" Cloud raised his head towards her "She is sleeping with Denzel. No one will bother us"

Tifa smiled and hugged his shoulders, pulling him for a long and passionate kiss. She too had missed him a lot.


	3. Chapter 3

New chapter today!

Thanks for the reviews

I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of the characters.

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Denzel was in deep thought while grabbing the books for the next classes without hurry; he still had time before the bell ringed. To his surprise, the paper bag he usually used to carry his lunch wasn't inside his backpack. The teen searched for it a bit, not finding it under his books.

Then, it hit him. He had forgotten it on the kitchen sink, even after Tifa warned him not to forget.

No… It wasn't Tifa who warned. It had been Marlene. He had fixed their lunches that morning using yesterday's leftovers; Tifa was unwell, so she couldn't do the task.

_It wasn't a surprise see the bathroom door open in early morning, but partial vision of Cloud's kneeling form was something unusual. Denzel hurried inside and saw Tifa slumped over the toilet with Cloud holding her hair and rubbing her back as she vomited._

_After the brunette emptied her stomach, Cloud made a move to help her stand. Denzel extended his arm to help._

_"__N-no" both men stopped when Tifa protested. "I'm still dizzy"_

_"__Okay" Cloud moved her so she would sit on the floor next to him, their backs against the tub "We will stay here until you feel well enough to go to bed again"_

_Tifa unconsciously dropped her head to rest on Cloud's shoulder. She face was very pale and drenched with sweat. She was feeling sick for some time now. Throwing up at different times of the day, headaches, fatigue and dizziness had become her routine in the last two weeks. Despite ensuring that there was nothing wrong with her, it was beginning to worry Denzel and Cloud._

_"__Denzel, you'll have to make breakfast to Marlene and help her get ready to school" Cloud didn't needed to vocalize that, the teen already knew he had to do it. "You can use the bar's bathroom"_

_Nodding, Denzel got his and Marlene's toothbrushes from the sink. Before leaving, he crouched in front of Tifa and brushed the hair from her face._

Denzel punched the locker next to him. It was frustrating not be able to do anything. He had believed when Tifa said that she just needed some rest and stop eating too much cream cheese before bed. He and Cloud should had made her go see a doctor sooner.

_'__Maybe that's how she feels when you lie and hide your injuries, Denzel' _The teenchuckled_ 'Ifrit, I wish I could kick my own ass'._

The sudden bang of his locker door proved he did not needed to wish that. Not with Rick and his gang were always willing to do it for him. The five boys surrounded him; Denzel turned around and rested his back against the lockers, watching Rick come stand in front of him.

"So… How are we feeling today, Denzel?" Denzel answered Rick's mocking smile with a stare and a blank facet. "You didn't came to play with us yesterday. That hurt."

"Thought you wanted some time before I made you face look pretty again. Too bad the bruise started to fade, you're getting ugly again."

Rick grabbed his shirt; Denzel's relaxed and confident stance enraged him more than his mocking. Raising his fist, he was ready to hit the smile out of his foe's face.

"Is there a problem here?" the teacher's voice made Rick let go of Denzel and lower his hand.

"No, sir, we were just chatting."

"Well, 'chat' during the break. All of you, go to your classes!"

"Yes, sir" before moving away, Rick brought his face closer to Denzel and hissed "This isn't over, Lockhart!"

"Didn't thought it was…"

Denzel watched the gang moved away, going to their class. He wanted to royally kick Rick's ass the way he deserved, but he was too kind.

"Why does Rick pick on you so much?" Denzel jumped when he heard Lucia suddenly appear next to him.

"You were watching"

Lucia started walking with him, they both had Study Hall now.

"Doesn't need to be a genius to notice that Rick and his friends made bullying you their favorite hobby. Everyone in school knows that."

"He's an asshole. He picks on everyone, not just me." Denzel pointed out.

They entered the library and sat together. Denzel picked his chemistry book, ready to start studying and drop the subject, but Lucia didn't gave up.

"I know that he is mean with everyone, but he just seems to hate you." She touched his arm, making him look at her "There's a rumor that you two fought in an alley last Friday and you won."

It was true. Denzel was ready to go home when Rick just pushed him to a corner and demanded a fight, which he complied. At a point in the middle of the confrontation, Rick was tired of Denzel dodging and tripping him, saying that he was tired of having to fight all the time and they should talk, and caught a pipe on the floor, swinging it at Denzel.

Denzel was able to defend himself raising his arm in front of him to stop the strike. It threw him to the ground and gashed his forearm. Realizing that Rick was ready to go too far, Denzel kicked his ankle, making the blond fall. Then Denzel got on him and punched him a few times, the hit on his face knocked Rick out and bruised his eye.

"Wasn't our first fight, surely won't be our last" He said confirming the rumor to Lucia.

Lucia raised her hand to caress his face, encouraging Denzel to keep looking at her.

"Why he hates you so much? You're not the kind of guy that makes enemies"

Denzel putted his pencil down and took a big breath.

"Before the meteorfall, I was an upper plate kid" He confessed, ready to tell the story of how Rick began to hate him to Lucia.

"You lost your parents that day?" she knew that Denzel lived with his foster mother and her boyfriend.

"Kind of." Denzel wasn't going to tell her the whole story of his life "Anyway… You know when you're a kid and believe in everything the grownups says?" Lucia nodded "So, my parents told me once that the people who lived in the slums ate rat. I was shocked!"

"That's silly. Slum people never got this desperate, besides, as far as I know, the poorest families helped each other" she laughed.

"Yeah, I know that now! I was a kid, I didn't knew that they were just teasing me" he breathed out in frustration "After the doomsday, I was homeless and alone, but I met a man who was leading a few refugees, and he helped me and a lot of kids, including Rick. Our group survived as scavengers, during some time we scavenged the sector seven ruins for construction materials for people building their homes on Edge"

"You and Rick were friends so. What changed?"

"Our leader got sick and died, and Edge was developing well. Many people started going to the city to build their lives, and with the orphan support facilities, the kids wouldn't need adults to survive there. Our work as scavengers began to be unnecessary because big machines started to take materials from the ruins. So little by little, everyone left Midgar and gone to Edge, until just me and Rick were left" Denzel rubbed his forehead "We just woke up one day all alone, and with no money or food. Everything was okay until I gave the stupid idea to catch rats to eat, remembering what my parents had told me. Rick was pissed; he said that he was a slum kid all his life and I was a spoiled upper plate brat who looked down on slum kids. I didn't knew that he had lived on the slums, and it didn't changed anything, he was still my friend; but he didn't listened. So, he left me and went to Edge"

Lucia rubbed his back with a sympathy look on her face.

"He must had been upset" she said "What happened next?"

"I went hunt rats. I was hungry and felt like I deserved eating a few dirty and nasty rats" the teen laughed "I didn't found any and I got… hurt in the sector five, but Cloud found me and took me to his home. I woke up with Tifa tending my wound." Denzel didn't wanted to tell Lucia that he had geostigma, afraid of what she would think of him. Besides, that sickness was never a pleasant subject.

"Your foster mom?" Denzel nodded "What a lucky break!" Lucia's happy tone disappeared when she realized how lucky Denzel got, different from Rick "Maybe he is jealous because you was adopted, or he regrets not going with you. Or he just hates your luck."

"I had the luck many kids didn't" Denzel rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed "What about you? How your family looks like?"

The girl scratched the back of her hand a little and smiled. Looking around, Denzel saw that a few students were pointing at them and whispering. Denzel was never the most popular kid on the school; he didn't even had friends, so it must have been strange for everyone when he started hanging out with Lucia.

Lucia was new on the school; she had started there that semester. Many guys noticed her, but for some reason she wanted to be Denzel's friend, even with better looking guys trying to be close to her and girls desiring to build friendships. Denzel had to admit that it was strange for her want to be close with the invisible-nerd-bullied kid of the class.

"I have big brothers, four of them" she smiled "Even through one of them isn't around anymore… And there's a fifth one, I think, but they doesn't talk about him much" Lucia lowered her gaze a little.

"They died?" Denzel wanted to punch himself for making her remember something sad. Wasn't he supposed to make Lucia like him?

"No. The fifth must be the black sheep; elder brother doesn't like him at all. The other one is just away, temporarily separated from us, but he'll come back one day" Lucia played with his pencil, moving it between her fingers. "I live with one of my big brothers here in the city, he works on a construction site. My elder brother and the second elder are in another city, but they call and visit from time to time…"

"You are the youngest" she nodded "and the only girl… They must be overprotective"

"We take care of each other. That's what a family does."

Suddenly, the bell ringed, announcing the lunch break. Denzel moaned sadly, remembering he forgot his lunch. He would have to go buy something in the cafeteria, risking crossing paths with Rick and having to fight.

"Hey!" Lucia called him "Wanna eat outside?"

"Huh?" he was not sure if what he hear was accurate.

"It's just… It was nice, yesterday…" her creamy skin was turning pink as she spoke. Her invitation made Denzel start reprehending himself.

_'__Congratulations, your morning daydream ruined your lunch'_

"I didn't brought lunch today" he confessed.

"Not a problem. I brought some dry fruit buns I made last night; we can share them if you brings drinks" Lucia played with her fingers and had her face covered by her bangs, trying to hide the red shade of her skin.

"Then, I'll meet you outside" Denzel smiled and walked away, going for the vending machines in the corridors.

The teen couldn't keep a large smile from forming on his face. His day was turning to be a great one.

_'__Ifrit, I'm the luckiest guy in Gaia!'_

XxXxXx

Even a small restaurant was busy during the lunch hour in Edge. Cloud and Tifa sat in one of the tables in silence, ignoring all the waiters and customers walking around them. They didn't even looked at each other, their eyes were fixed on their meals.

Cloud looked up, noticing that Tifa hadn't ate any of her macaroni and cheese, she was just poking the pasta with the fork in deep concentration.

"Feeling sick again?" he asked in his monotone voice. She shook her head and started eating slowly.

A natural reaction, the news they had just received weren't exactly easy to digest: Tifa was nine weeks pregnant. The doctor was surprised that the barmaid didn't realized it sooner.

When they arrived at the clinic, they expected to Tifa's sickness be a stomach infection or a simple virus. Both of them were surprised with the diagnosis, to the point that none of the two showed any reaction.

Cloud had always believed he would never be able to have children, not with all the mako he had been exposed, which had just be proven wrong. Tifa's quietness worried him. He was sure she never cheated on him, so the baby had to be his, so why she was so worried?

"Are you happy?" the question left Tifa's lips in a whisper.

"Yeah… I'm sure it will be more visible when the shock fade away." He grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes "Are you?"

"Yes, it's a beautiful thing." She smiled a little "We gonna have to build a room for this child, decorate it…" the smile disappeared "But Denzel…"

The swordsman realized what the problem was when Tifa mentioned her adoptive son. "How are we going to tell him this?"

Tifa shrugged and tilted her head to the left a little "Maybe we should keep it quiet for a while, until we decide what to do"

"He will find out soon" Cloud rubbed his eyes "It is already in the third month, soon it will be visible."

"If he finds out, we will tell him. Besides, you heard the doctor" she squeezed his hand "There's still a chance of miscarriage before the end of the first trimester, it is the best if it stays between us until January."

Cloud finally smiled. A big and bright smile.

"We're going to have a baby…"

"Yes, we will" Tifa smiled and laughed "Cid and Barret are going to become impossible to deal with"

"Why? Just because we did what they always said to us do?" They both laughed.

XxXxXx

The brunette looked through the window, watching the blizzard, every day was a snowy day in Icicle. In different circumstances, she would happily be outside, playing in the snow or maybe taking samples from the flora to further studies. But destiny was never kind to her.

The building she was inside was an old ShinRa research facility from the Science Division, properly equipped for the scientists to perform their experiments freely. The white walls were claustrophobic, the metal tables with straps and the mako tubes made the place look like a horrible dungeon. The fact that the equipment were untouched signaled the laboratory was secret, so only a few knew of this place, probably because it was a facility to perform immoral and cruel experimentation.

She was terrified, terrified of what they would force her to do. She would have tried to run away, to escape into the glacier and let the cold take her to the lifestream, if she could walk. She was trapped in a wheelchair; her legs had lost its strength a long time ago for lack of use.

She didn't turned her head when the door of her room opened, she knew it was the bulky young man with her food. After five long steps, he putted the plate on the small desk next to where she sat.

"Need anything, doctor?" his deep voice was monotone.

"Just help me lie down, please. I'm not hungry today." All she wanted was to sleep and forget this nightmare.

He sighed and warned "Brother wasn't pleased when you didn't eat last time. If you do it again, he will lose his patience"

"Why did you wake me?" she asked, changing the subject, her voice cracking with sadness as she spoke "How could I possibly help you? Why couldn't you just let me sleep in peace? It's painful to be awake"

"You'll know when you need to know" the man turned and walked to the entrance "I will be back in an hour. Eat you meal or brother will know." Then, he closed the door and locked it.

Alone, she hid her face with her hands and started crying. No one knew where she was, no one even knew she existed. The only person who would notice she was missing was far away, and he visited her just once in a while. How much time until he realized something was wrong?

"Hurry…" she whispered between her sobs "Please Vincent, hurry…"

XxXxXx

Birthdays were always awkward, no matter how many people come to your party. Denzel's party was a small one, just him, Tifa, Cloud, Barret and Marlene. He had received a cheerful voice message from Yuffie and a brief one from Cid. The teen didn't expected Nanaki and Vincent to get in touch, but Reeve's absence of contact was strange, he thought he would at least send a card.

Tifa made a big cake with blue frosting, she and Cloud didn't bought a present for him, but he didn't care. Barret and Marlene appeared with a small package with a silver chain. Marlene pointed out that the leather cord he used to hold his fenrir ring around his neck was too old and worn. With a smile, Denzel took off his necklace and replaced the cord by the silver chain, and thanked Marlene and Barret for the gift.

They spent the night talking, drinking and eating cake, Barret seemed to have a great story for every ordinary workday, or was just the way he told the stories.

Denzel really wanted Lucia to be there, celebrating his birthday with him and the people he held dear; too bad her brother had established a curfew to her. 'To prevent smart ass boyfriends', that's what she said. However, she had gave him a kiss on his cheek, it was enough to bright his day.

A few taps on the windows caught their attention; all of them were a little surprised when they saw Cait Sith waving his little pawn. Cloud got up and opened the window; the cat robot hopped up on one of the tables and dusted all grime from his artificial fur.

"Ahoy, my friends!" Greeted the puppet. Marlene immediately greeted him in the same fashion, giggling a bit.

"Nice to see you, Reeve. Good thing you could make it" said Tifa with an amused smile.

"Nah. I wished I could be here myself, but got too busy." the puppet turned to Denzel "So, how old are you today?"

"Sixteen" it was alright to do this when you are a kid like Marlene, but after you get a little older is strange to talk with a toy. Denzel wondered how Tifa, Barret and Cloud did it without feeling awkward.

"Getting too big then"

"Nonsense" grumped Barret "He is just as tall as Cloud right now. If he doesn't stretch a little more, he is doomed to be a shorty just like spikey"

"Hey!" Cloud and Denzel protested together, amusing everyone in the room.

"Anyway…" Cait Sith fetched an envelope from his cape and handed it to Denzel "Just wanted to give this to our birthday boy"

Denzel caught the envelope and raised an eyebrow in confusion. The cat robot encouraged him to open it up, saying he was making everyone curious. He breathed out, after all Reeve really sent a birthday card to him.

"Holy shit!" He screamed in surprise when he retrieved the content from the envelope, making everyone in the room jump. "Are you fucking crazy, Mr. Reeve? I cannot accept it!"

"Hey! Watch the language in front of my baby!" barked Barret, reprehending Denzel's foul mouth.

"Sorry, Mr. Barret…" apologized Denzel rubbing the back of his neck.

Barret was about to say more, but Tifa cut him. In her hands were the ten thousand gil check Reeve had gave to Denzel.

"Reeve, that's too much money. We can't accept it."

"Of course you can. I'm sure Denzel is going to put it in a good use" Reeve talked like it was nothing.

"I-I don't even know what I'm going to do with it!" Denzel never had this kind of money before; he didn't even know a teenager should have all that money available. Of course, he had his personal savings and he knew about the funding Cloud and Tifa had for him, but they worked hard to earn it. How come someone could just give away that amount?

Cloud got the check from Tifa's hands. They expected him to give it back to Cait Sith, but he looked at the piece of paper and putted it back inside the envelope.

"Maybe your mother and I should keep this until you figure out what to do with it." Tifa and Denzel turned to Cloud, ready to protest "It's a gift, you can't deny one, and I trust Reeve knows exactly what he is doing."

"You're right…" Denzel turned his attention to Cait "Thank you, Mr. Reeve."

The little robot gave him a cat-like grin "You're welcome, lad"

After an hour, Barret and Marlene left. Caith didn't bothered, he said that he needed Cloud to drop by the WRO headquarters in the morning, so he could take the robot back; probably for a job.

Denzel slumped down on his bed with his towel covering his face, he cold air gave chills on his naked torso. He was tired; maybe he should sleep in that position, half lying, and half dropping off the bed.

The message alert on his phone rang. He groped the duvet until he found the device. Flipping it open, he saw it was an order from one of his regulars and it was sent a few hours ago.

He discarded the towel over the chair, turned off the lights and climbed up on the bed. Denzel fell asleep disappointed to have to wake up early in the next morning.


	4. Chapter 4

I am terribly sorry for the late update. It was the end of semester of my collage, I had to work on part of my thesis, had classes to plan… (yep, I'm a teacher)

Promise I will try not to take so much time next time.

Thanks for the new followers and favorites. And thank you anonymous guest, K Double Prime and Shade the Hero for the reviews.

Please leave a review after reading and sorry for my english, it is not my first language

* * *

Tifa woke alone in the bed, the blankets were not cold; it was just losing the heat, meaning that Cloud had woke up not long ago. She got up and putted her robe before leaving the room, hoping to find Cloud in the kitchen. Tifa found him standing in the hallway with his back against the wall, in front of Denzel's room. He had a green materia between his thumb and forefinger, and he was gazing at it accurately.

When the swordsman saw her, he pushed himself from the wall and lowered his hand.

"Did I woke you?"

"No…" Tifa looked inside Denzel's room, not finding the boy "Where is Denzel?"

"He got up earlier than me, he left half an hour ago, left breakfast ready. He said he was going to Midgar visit Ruvie's and his parent's graves." Tifa was about to say something, but he interrupted "He took his weapon and some of his materia to protect himself." The threw the materia in the air and got it back "And I took the opportunity to check something in his room"

"Wait, it is Denzel's materia?" Cloud nodded "You got in his room without his consent?! Why did you do this? I thought we should trust him, not snoop around on his things! This is not trusting!"

"I know Tifa, I'm not proud of it, but I needed to know" Cloud got closer and showed the materia to her. The barmaid saw that it had a slightly strong glow inside it "See? It evolved, even if a little. Denzel already used it in combat."

The anger she had for Cloud's actions disappeared, replaced by concern. When Denzel used his Ice materia, and why? As far as she knew, the boy only used his materia when he went to Midgar, some monsters still lurked around the abandoned city, together with beasts and criminals, but his ability with the gunblade would be enough, wouldn't it?

"Leave this for later" Cloud got inside the boy's room and putted the materia back where he had found it "I'm going to leave too. Reeve asked me to take Cait Sith back to the WRO headquarters."

"He wants you to do something for him" Tifa knew it wasn't just a devolution, Reeve made the robot go all the way to their house the day before, he could make it go back on its own. Besides, Reeve had the habit to call Cloud when he needed something dangerous to be done.

"He probably wants to book a delivery." When the blond saw the look on Tifa's face he realized that he should have shared his thoughts little by little instead all at once.

Tifa's nature was always a caring and motherly one; she easily helps those who she holds dear and worries about them, but her greatest fault was that she, most of the time, was clueless of what to do. Cloud knew that fault maybe too well; it was that fault that prevented her from taking action when he fell into depression nearly eight years ago, and when she found him at the train station in Sector Seven.

Wasn't that they were doing right now? Weren't them just stepping back and watching everything that was happening to Denzel from afar without intervening?

Cloud got closer to Tifa and hugged her.

"Don't worry Tifa, we will figure out what to do together, as a family" Cloud massaged her back, making her moan a little "We are going to talk to Denzel when I get back."

"You don't really need to do this. I can talk to him"

"Of course I need to do it. Denzel is my kid too, even if my name isn't in the paper" They broke the embrace when Cloud got a hold on Tifa's biceps and pushed her gently "Try not to get your head on this too much."

Cloud kissed her forehead before going downstairs. She heard a small conversation; probably him telling Cait Sith that they needed to go. Tifa went back to the room, she had to get ready for her day.

As she grabbed a few clothes for her shower, she spotted the photograph nailed next to her mirror. The picture showed she and an eleven-year-old Denzel holding a piece of paper, it was taken the day Denzel's adoption papers arrived. Tifa took the frame from the wall and sat on the bed looking at it.

_Tifa hurried inside the garage, where Cloud were calibrating Fenrir's swords compartments engine with Denzel assisting him, with a big smile on her face. Her two boys had grease on their faces and shirts, the kind of stain that would never wash up, but it didn't mattered._

_"__Denzel" When they heard her voice, both of them looked up from the motorcycle "I have a gift for you."_

_The boy got up and walked toward her, an expectation expression on his face as Tifa opened the brown paper envelope and took a sheet of paper from it, giving it to Denzel._

_Denzel read what was written, not really understanding everything, a few words there he did not know. There was only one thing he registered: _Denzel Lockhart_._

_"__You don't have to worry about someone taking you away again" Tifa ruffled the boy's hair. "It is official: we are mother and son. No one will take us apart, we are a proper family now."_

_The boy hugged the barmaid, full of joy. Tifa scooped him up and spun her body with in him, she was as happy as he was._

_"__Hey!" Denzel and Tifa turned their heads to see Cloud with the digital camera in his hands "This moment needs to be recorded."_

_Tifa putted Denzel on the ground, kneeled behind him and gave a crushing hug. The boy had the paper in front of him, exhibiting it to the camera. They both smiled brightly as Cloud took the picture._

Tifa smiled sadly. She and Denzel used to be so close, now he was drifting apart from her, from Cloud. What worried her the most was not knowing what kind of reaction her boy will have when he finds out she is pregnant.

XxXxXx

It began with the neighbors him help for a few things, like unloading a few heavy packages, carrying something and fixing electronics and house structure, the good deed always paid a little money for it, even when the boy said they didn't needed to. Then, when it became known that Denzel visited Midgar occasionally, and that he had had a weapon and knew how to use it, artisans and botanists began asking him to bring a few things, like pelts and plants.

Before Denzel realized, he started working as a monster hunter. He had only a few clients on his list; ten would be too much.

As far as Tifa and Cloud knew, he stopped doing the odd jobs and never monster hunted. It was problematic to keep the secret; every time his clothes were ruined because of a claw or fang from a monster, he had to buy a new one just like the old. He also had to buy medical supplies to tend his wounds; much of his possible profit went on potions, antidotes and ethers,

Even with the little profit, Denzel kept going. If an outsider analyzed the boy's practice, he would say to him to stop. He was getting hurt, risking his neck for very little, it was not worth it. Except, Denzel never really did it for the money. Maybe at the beginning, he had a shoebox inside his closet with all his savings, approximately two thousand gil, maybe less. Most of his savings came from his allowance leftovers, took years to get to nine hundred, boosting some more when he began monster hunting six months ago.

It was frustrating realizing he was gaining fifty gil or some less than a hundred gil for profit; but when Cloud said that his skills and reflexes were getting better he saw the benefits of fighting the beasts that lurked around Midgar and Edge. Fighting the beasts and monsters was improving his battle skills and materia wielding.

It was worth it continuing his services as a hunter; he was already becoming a professional. A month ago, he bought a set of clothes he only used for hunting and kept it inside the bag he took only when he goes to Midgar. This way, he wouldn't need to worry about ruining his clothes during a fight, and saved him the trouble of finding new ones exactly the same as the old. Tifa did the laundry in their home; she would realize that his clothes never got worn if he kept buying new ones.

The bag he was carrying had the medical supplies and tools for skinning animals, harvesting plants and the proper material to transport and preserve the spoils.

Denzel stopped walking. Midgar became a spooky place, people never goes there; the ruins had become the monument of the planet's wrath after the meteorfall. The only reason the city was still standing was because everyone saw it as a reminder, something to remember what the mako energy and greed has done to the planet and what would be the humans' fate if it be done again.

He grabbed the handle of his gunblade and pushed the small trigger located by the hilt, activating the weapon. Quickly unsheathing the blade, he turned around and pulled one of the two triggers of the handle, shooting a fireball on a Kalm Fang.

The sheath had the marking 'M.P.G.S-7', abbreviation for 'Materia Powered Gun Sword seventh model'. The sword was broad until the middle of the blade body, then there was a diagonal cut to half the width for a couple inches and then changed the angle became straight again, following the other side of the sword. The broad side had the gun barrel; it fired magical ammunition if he pulled the down trigger. If Denzel pulled the trigger above his thumb, the gun detached from the main body and became an independent firearm with a bladed body.

It was a tricky system. God knows how many times he pulled the wrong trigger before he got used to it.

The smell of burn flesh and fur rose at the same time five Kalm Fangs emerged from their hiding spot. Warily, Denzel put the two bouquets of flowers he was carrying and his bag on the floor. As he raised again, the pack jumped to attack him.

Denzel rolled to the side and got up quickly; he shoot again, a thunder spell this time, incapacitating another wolf. Using a haste spell, the teen stroke two beasts at the same time, not failing to see another one attacking him by the back. The teen rotated his body, stretching one leg up, and hit a roundhouse kick on the wolf's ribs, sending it against the remaining member of the pack.

Cornered, the wolves ran away, whimpering loudly. He had to admit, the most useful materias Yuffie had given to him were his Time and Deathblow, if not considering the Restore. Denzel deactivated the weapon and picked up the bouquets, a few flowers were crushed, but it made no difference. The good news: his client wanted four wolf pelts and a few fangs. Be attacked saved Denzel from wander around Midgar later, he could go home earlier.

Denzel gathered the bodies of the beasts side by side. He took a hunting knife from his bag, knelled in front of one of the wolves and started skinning one of them. The process as sickening, he never liked doing, but he had learned to depart his thoughts without harming the work. After he finished taking off the pelts, he used a pliers to yank four fangs from each wolf.

Having finished his work, Denzel gathered his things and proceeded his walk towards the sector five upper plate, where Ruvie's grave was located. He knew that Reeve had made a nice and pretty one for her on Edge, but it just felt wrong for the teen go visit that one. He had lived with her in her house on sector five for around a year, it just felt right to go visit her grave on the backyard; he felt closer to her there.

An hour later, Denzel arrived to Ruvie's house. He passed through the ruins towards the backyard, where an old wood cross marked her grave.

The teen putted one of the bouquets in front of the cross. He stared it for a few minutes.

"I brought you flowers, I know how much you like them; I got some for my parents too, I'm gonna visit them afterwards. Hope you like them, are the last of the season." Denzel swallowed hard and scratched the back of his head; not knowing what tell her first.

Cloud had brought him the first time he visited, three years and something ago; the older man did not wanted to intrude the boy's moment, so he waited outside, doing the same when they were at sector seven. Denzel never asked Cloud to bring him over again, so it took some time for him to go to Midgar again, he had to learn how to fight and use his MPGS properly before that.

"Your son, Reeve, I know him, did I tell you that? He is a friend of my foster parents, he is so grateful for me making you company during the time he was out that year that he proclaimed himself my godfather. Although Tifa and Cloud made it official some time ago…" Denzel laughed a little "It was harmless for some time, the most radical thing he ever did was offering to pay for my college, but only if I graduate with honors. But last night he made something absurd! He gave a ten thousand gil check for my birthday! I don't know what to do with it! It is too much! I would have liked better if he let me enroll the military training of the WRO instead. After all, I want to be a WRO Special Ops someday…"

Denzel chatted with Ruvie for some time, talking about his school live, about Lucia, Tifa and Cloud, and his problems. During all that time, he felt like the elder woman actually could answer all his doubts, it felt silly, but also good at the same time. Saying his goodbyes, and promising he would be back again when new flowers bloomed, Denzel walked to the ruins of the sector seven.

Most of the debris were gone, making it easier to walk around the ruins, result of people searching for materials to build their houses on Edge over the years.

Denzel reached a marked place on a clear space, surrounded by rubble and garbage. The had nailed that metal pipe on the earth years ago, on the exact place he had found the photograph of him together with his parents when he was still a scavenger.

The boy sat in front of the pipe and putted the flower bouquet there.

"Hey mom… Hey dad… It was my birthday yesterday, but you already know that" He ashamedly looked to the side; it was harder talk to his parents than with Ruvie. "I still live with Cloud and Tifa, they are nice; I feel safe with them." He did a pause "Tifa adopted me, it was a few years ago, sorry I never told you." Denzel went quiet again. He stayed like that for some time.

"She never said anything, but I know she wants me to call her 'mom' again. I did it some time ago, I don't really remember when or why, it just slipped from my mouth. It kinda felt right at the moment, but I felt bad the next day because…" The boy stopped talking; not wanting to verbalize that he felt guilty doing that after looking at their photograph. "I wish you could meet her."

The teenager said nothing about his problems to them, just talked about silly things or any subject that came to his mind. He left at noon, he knew that to reach Edge from sector seven would take at least two or three hours by foot. He groaned and started walking; daydreaming about using the money Reeve gave him to buy a motorcycle.

XxXxXx

The WRO building was far enough from Edge to prevent the city to be damaged in case of a large-scale attack, but close enough to assist quickly. Cloud walked through the corridors with Cait Sith on his shoulder, he got in after showing the receptionist his keycard, for some reason Reeve had gave him and Tifa WRO cards that identified them as part of the organization's Special Ops. Of course, they always were up to help when needed, but as far as the blond knew, they were out from the paychecks.

Cloud talked briefly with Reeve's secretary, who asked him to wait for a few minutes. The swordsman sat on the couch, Cait Sith beside him, and waited patiently. He politely refused the coffee the young woman offered him. Lowering his head, Cloud closed his eyes and let himself doze off.

Being a light sleeper, Cloud woke up a few minutes later hearing a faint sound of music. Looking up, he saw that a third person had walked in the waiting room. The man was wearing a standard uniform of the cleaning crew of the building, a skullcap and round sunglasses. The music Cloud heard came from his big headphones.

Something in that man bothered Cloud, but the tall and slim man never acknowledged Cloud's presence. He ignored the gaze upon him, replacing the garbage bag from the secretary's desk before returning to his cleaning cart to grab a mop. The blond lowered his gaze, probably was just paranoia, the man was just a janitor.

"Mr. Strife, Commissioner Tuesti will receive you now". Nodding, Cloud got up and walked into Reeve's office.

Cait Sith ran into the room and jumped on Reeve's lap, while Cloud took a sit in front of the Commissioner's desk.

"Thank you for bringing Cait back. Did Denzel liked the gift?"

"No clue, all I can say is that he was shocked, like Tifa and I."

"I see…" Reeve ceased petting Cait, turning his eyes to Cloud "You must already imagine".

The swordsman nodded, not in need to vocalize that Reeve would never ask him to travel all the way to the headquarters just to bring Cait Sith back. "What you need to tell me that Tifa and Denzel couldn't listen?"

"News such as the ones I have can't be given by someone as me, but by the man of the family. Especially when it affects you directly." Reeve made a pause, searching for the right words. "Vincent called me a few weeks ago. He reported that while he was on a small village, he heard a couple of people say that three men with silver hair wearing black stole a truck near the town."

Cloud felt a chill up his spine, but did not disclose his tension. After all, it could not be possible. A few seconds after, Reeve continued.

"I know what you're thinking, I didn't believed myself. Until a man with a mane of silver hair and a black coat rented two rooms in a inn in Costa del Sol. He booked two rooms and was accompanied by three people." The middle-aged man turned his computer screen to the blond, showing a bad picture of the man. Beside him, he could figure out a slender figure with long and silver hair walking beside him.

"Sephiroth" Cloud muttered, controlling his voice. He was shaking.

"This is the only picture Vincent had access, it happened several weeks after the theft and the security tapes were already being reused. The staff were unable to give a better description, since they receive many tourists; apparently, one of the receptionists said it's hard to forget him because he terrified her, and he also seemed sickly. Also said one of his companions was assisting him, a young of delicate appearance, probably a -"

Reeve stopped talking when Cloud punched the table. The sound startled him and Cait, making both jump.

"He _can't_ be back, Reeve! It's not possible!" the blond growled between his teeth.

The older man learned closer to him, supporting his forearms on the table.

"But he is, Cloud, and we have to be ready for when he decides to attack." Cloud breathed a few times before slumping back to the chair, Reeve relaxed his posture soon after. "Vincent is still investigating. He said that he will report personally close to the New Year's Eve."

How convenient. Of course, Vincent would report in the New Year, it was when their group reunited at the Seventh Heaven to spend time with everyone together while celebrating and listening to everyone stories.

Reeve grabbed something from one of his drawers and putted in front of him. It was a cellphone, identical of the one Cloud always carried, the difference was the golden Fenrir in the front and a additional button on the lateral.

"Barret, Marlene, Cid, Shera, Yuffie and I already have this new model. It have a panic button on the lateral, when pressed, it immediately activates a GPS and send a distress signal. Vincent carries a prototype of this model. This is yours. I selected another two for Denzel and Tifa."

"This thing is bad Reeve, really bad. It came at a terrible timing…" Cloud had his hands on his head, looking visibly distressed. "Tifa is pregnant."

The confession made the older man's eyes wide, his face torn between concern and happiness. A child was a beautiful thing, a true miracle coming from the mako-enhanced body of Cloud, but how could he be happy if it meant a big danger for the swordsman and his family?

"When?"

"We found out last week. No one knows yet, not even Denzel. We were planning to tell everyone at the New Year Eve's party." He nudged the table "Besides, Denzel is not a child anymore. He won't want stay back while we all fight."

That was true. Tifa's pregnancy made the fighter a vulnerable target to Sephiroth, since she could not fight back in her condition. They had to work with the possibility of Denzel also become a target, after all, the ex-ShinRa general hate for Cloud was known; hurt his family to get onto the blond's head was a low blow, but almost eminent.

To add that, Denzel had a protective personality. He would never stand back and do nothing when something was threatening his loved ones.

"Bring Denzel here. I want to test his abilities."

Cloud raised his head to look at Reeve. "What?"

"Tifa has been teaching the boy martial arts since he was thirteen, right? And you have been training him in swordplay and materia use for a while now, no?" Cloud nodded silently "Besides, he have that nice gunblade and materia we gave him last year, it would be a shame to let them gathering dust."

"Are you serious? You are suggesting we involve a sixteen year old kid into a battle against the biggest threat to this planet?" the swordsman voice was almost a growl "We taught him this technics so he could visit his parents and your mother in Midgar and be able to protect himself. We allowed him to have a weapon for this reason too."

"You said yourself that Denzel will want to fight, isn't it better we prepare him for a life-threatening fight instead of let him find himself in one without prepare?" Reeve had made a good point "My scientists were able to rescue the data from the virtual simulator training room from ShinRa, the technology they used to train SOLDIERs. Denzel can train and experience struggle of a fight in a controlled environment. If he does badly, he will star coming here once a week for training. This will prepare him to defend himself and it is better than forbid him on doing something he wants, and encourage him into endangering himself" That didn't seemed to convince Cloud "If you were on his shoes, what would you do?"

The question hit Cloud like a sucker punch. His expression continued black, but the answer was obvious: them wanting or not, I would fight. The same thing Denzel was going to do.

"I can bring him tomorrow, Tifa will want to come too, and I don't have the vehicle for it." Cloud grabbed the phone and pocketed it "I will ask Barret a ride."

"Call me later to confirm the appointment." With this, Cloud left the room. Reeve settled Cait Sith on the side of the table and gone back to work.

Closing the door, Cloud unconsciously looked for the janitor he saw earlier.

"Miss" he addresses the secretary, who looked up from the computer monitor to listen to him "Who was the man that was here a few minutes ago?"

"You mean Kurt? He is one of our janitors; he started working here a few months ago." She shrugged "He is really quiet, always listening to music, I think he doesn't talk."

"Thank you"

Cloud walked to the elevators, ready to get his motorcycle and go back to his usual schedule. What he had just done was uncommon for him, why did he bothered about a janitor? He never was someone to care about other people business; maybe he was just paranoiac because of Denzel's secrecy.

Even so, when was the last time he got bothered by someone's presence?

XxXxXx

"This one is in a bad state." complained the tailor, pointing to the burned marks on the wolf pelt.

"Sorry about this, you can cut off from the payment."

"I'll pay half of the price for this one, lucky you I can still find a use for it". The man counted a few bills and handed it to Denzel "Let me know when you are going to Midgar again, I might need more stuff again."

"Sure. Have a nice day".

Denzel made his way back home. The street seemed darker than usual, as if the city was mourning the lack of the sun and heat; soon first snow would fall. The teen only a few memories of falling snow in the Midgar area, usually it happened just once or twice during the winter, and it had to be night and really cold; but for the last years, it started gradually more frequent and intense.

Edge had pollution, but not the heavy brown mass from the mako fumes Midgar had, actually, that nasty smoke was rarely sighted nowadays. Probably the lack of frequent and violent pollution from the mako reactors was being nice for the planet.

"Deep in thought?"

After realizing that he stopped walking and stayed staring at the sky like an idiot, Denzel looked around him, trying to find the owner of the voice. Eventually, he looked down, finding the large fire lion-like beast guardian of the Cosmo Canyon.

"Mister Nanaki, good to see you."

"It is good to see you too" Nanaki eyes Denzel up and down "You have grown".

The two started walking together, clearly going to the same destination.

"What's brings you to Edge?"

"I was in the area, since I would have to come back for the New Year Eve, it would be a waste of time travel to another location when I eventually come back."

"That's nice. Cloud and Tifa are going to love the idea of you staying with us." Denzel noticed a brown wool scarf around Nanaki's neck "What's up with the scarf?"

"I defeated a Chocobo Eater a few weeks ago. Apparently, it was causing problems to a farm. The owner's wife knitted this as a 'thank you' gift."

"Looks good on you."

Nanaki proceeded telling Denzel about the time he expended at the farm as they made their way to the bar. He had learned a lot about chocobos, sheeps and farming in his time there. The owner's children had played with him and the family listened his stories with great interest, they had never gone to anyplace but there. They had invited him to stay during the winter, which Nanaki politely refused, so they gave him a scarf to 'protect him from the bitter cold wind'.

"Have you named it?"

"What?" the fire beast pointed to Denzel's gunblade, which was fastened on his back "No, I should have?"

"Names are important Denzel. Everything that is special, dear or hold a meaning to us need to have a name. Names gives meanings to feelings, objects, places, people; That's why we name our children, cities, vales and weapons."

Denzel understood the reason to give names to cities and locations, it had an geographical reason, had to mark places somehow, ending up giving something a particularity. But naming a object like this made no sense to him.

"I don't know, it just seems…gaudy. I get name people and places, bet name a weapon just feels stupid" Denzel knew he was being too sincere, and had a good chance in offending Nanaki. "Besides, it already have a name, it's MPGS."

Nanaki shook his head slowly.

"That is not It's name, it is the model. Your 'model' is 'human', but you are Denzel" the guardian's voice was filled with knowledge. "Weapons are extensions of ourselves. It fight we us and we end up relying on it to keep us safe, to protect our loved ones and be by our side. It's only natural for us to become attached to it, to give it a name and make it unique."

Denzel thought about it, remembering that Cloud had named his motorcycle even when he never needed it. Also, Marlene, many years ago, had asked Tifa what she had done with her 'Premium Hearts'; when he questioned about it, the barmaid answered that it was her fighting gloves, and she kept them inside a nice wood crate inside of one of her drawers. Likewise, Cloud had once mentioned that the primary blade of his Fusion Sword was named 'First Tsurugi'.

In the end, he could see logic in Nanaki's philosophy. Maybe it was alright to name weapons, it wasn't a bad thing.

The boy grabbed his MPGS handle and putting it in front of his eyes. Deactivated, the blade folded backwards and held by a piston that made part with the handle, cutting the length for about half of it. After a few minutes analyzing his gun sword, he sheathed it back.

"I'll think of a name for it." The chance on the boy's mind made Nanaki grin.

The talking done for the rest of the way was all about how Denzel was doing and why he was so far away from home, Nanaki clearly wanted to save his stories for the New Year party. Every year, everyone of their little group listened to his stories. Of all of them, Nanaki was the only one who was fascinated by the small things of the nature and life, that's why Denzel and Marlene always listened what he had to say; His stories were amazing and they always learned something.

Denzel grabbed his keys and opened the back door of the bar (the health surveillance knew how to complicate things) laughing about he still having the cushion Nanaki slept the last time he was there. The scene they found was not what they expected. Cloud and Tifa were sitting on the kitchen table with two phones between them. The dense atmosphere made their arrival awkward.

"I'm home…?" Denzel announced slowly "We got visit" he pointed to Nanaki.

Tifa got up "Good to see you Nanaki, it has been a long time" She got up and got a bowl and a glass, filling both with water.

"Denzel, sit down" Cloud ordered. Not understanding a thing, Denzel complied while searching his memories to find whatever he did wrong.

_'__Oh crap, they found out about the monster hunting. I'm screwed'_

"You arrived at the right timing, something has happened." Tifa putted the water for the boy and the fire beast "It involves everyone of us."

Denzel relaxed a little, the subject had nothing to do with him, which was good. In the other hand, Cloud's tone creeped him out.


	5. Chapter 5

New chapter today, hope you like it

Thank you for the reviews: misterious guests, Shade the Hero and K Double Prime.

Again, excuse me for my english (I hope I'm getting better)

Please, Enjoy the story and leave your review.

* * *

There are times that you just stand in a place where people run around and ignore you, too focused in what they are doing to notice you; the oddest place to do it surely is a gym class.

Denzel never liked sports, just practicing it in school. Probably, if the plate had never fallen, his father would have enrolled him at a sport team, something his old teachers had said about Denzel being 'too solitary' and 'enroll him on a sport activity could help him make more friends'. His parents had discussed it, but decided that, for the best, they would do it when he was ten. The boy decided back then that it didn't mattered, even if he didn't liked sports he would practice it and try to be good at it if it was something to make his parents happy.

The only physical activity he ever done because he wanted was his training with Tifa and Cloud. Tifa had helped him with the basic: physical endurance and muscular strength, for then teach him martial arts. After he learned how to defend himself with his bare hands, Cloud started teaching him swordplay.

The strangest thing he ever done was applying this skills in a fight in the WRO's virtual training simulator with audience. The battle went well, he won, barely, but it was a victory. Reeve and Nanaki were impressed, they congratulated him for his skills and Tifa and Cloud for teaching him. Tifa was joyful and proud of him, hugged him so hard the thought she was going squeeze his insides out. Cloud congratulated him too, but the teen saw in his eyes that something was still bothering him.

"Denzel!"

Denzel got dragged back to reality, just remembering that he was in the middle of a soccer game. The only thing he registered was a flying object coming in his direction. His fight-or-flight instinct kicked in before he knew what he was doing, Denzel did a somersault kick in the ball, launching it directly on the opposing team goal.

He landed crouched with perfect balance; in that moment, Denzel saw everyone gawking at him, the only soul that moved after his jump was the goalkeeper, who failed at his job. He was so focused remembering his experimental mortal battle that he used his fighting skills on the game.

"C'mon, kids! The game is still on!" the gym teacher, Paul Jones, urged the game to restart blowing the whistle.

Looking up to the bleachers, he saw Lucia sitting there with a notebook on her hands. The girl waved to him, he complied with a smile; and then he realized that she hadn't seen the greatest goal in the history of the Edge High. Great, the first cool thing he did in public in years and Lucia did not see it.

To get out of the game, Denzel pretended that he hurt his foot on the landing, it would be better if no one had the chance of trying make him repeat his move. He sat on the bench, daydreaming, until he felt a hand on his shoulder; turning around, he saw Lucia smiling at him.

"Why you are not there?"

_'__Great, she really didn't saw it.'_

"Hurt my ankle. It's nothing, but you can't give the chance."

Rick's group was ditching class, hiding behind the bleachers of the gym. All five boys were looking at some magazines and smoking cigarettes, one of them had a pornographic magazine. Rick felt Adam, a red haired boy a year older, nudge him.

"Hey guys, check that out" he indicated the bench by the sports court where Denzel sat with Lucia. "Why a big catch like Lucia fools around with a nerd like Denzel?"

"No idea." Another one opined "Maybe he have money."

Rick ignored as his friends made fun of Denzel and made ridiculous assumptions of why Lucia liked him, he was focused on observing them interact. He lit up another cigarette.

"Maybe we should put Denzel on his place" all boys stopped talking and looked at him. "A loser like him shouldn't have a nice pair of legs like Lucia." Rick blew some smoke off.

Unaware of the presence of five pairs of eyes, Denzel and Lucia kept their chatting. The teen presumed that he looked like an idiot, he kept smiling every time Lucia opened her mouth. She was a smart when she choose her subjects, she made it in a way she could dispense gym class. He should have thought of that, it was complicated hold back on his skills during the class.

"What are you going to do after school?" Denzel asked, interrupting Lucia while she talked about her grade at their literature class.

"Huh?" she was dumbfounded.

_'__Holy crap'_ it was too late to pretend it never happened.

"I mean… Usually we just say goodbye and go our ways. We never talk outside school. I just go home and do my homework before helping in the bar, but I finish quickly and have plenty of time. And I don't know what you do, but if it not something too complicated we can go for a walk and…" Denzel stopped his erratic chatter when Lucia started laughing. Now he was dumbfounded.

"Of course I will go out with you, Denzel." Lucia's smile was wide and bright. "Wait for me at the stairs outside after class, okay?"

The boy gagged a little before being able to talk. "Sure, I'll be there."

Denzel half expected a kiss on his cheek, but Lucia got up and smiled at him before walking off the gym. Just a few minutes after, the game ended and the teacher ordered everyone hit the showers. Denzel got up to follow.

"Not you, Lockhart." The boy stopped, watching the older man walk to him. "A word with you." He swallowed loudly, visibly nervous. "Denzel, where did you learned to do that?"

"Do what coach?"

"Don't pretend you are dumb, boy, your grades are too high to prove wrong. You know what I'm talking about."

"I-it was a miracle, I swear. I never done something like that before."

"That's a lie, boy."

Denzel gritted his teeth and looked to the ground, avoiding the gaze of the coach. Jones putted a hand on his shoulder, making him look up.

"It's alright if you don't want to tell, you are not in trouble. Your skill is excellent, I could use someone like you in the soccer team." Denzel opened his mouth to say something "BUT it is your choice." The boy exhaled, calming down. "Obviously you have many talents, Denzel, and for some reason you want to hide it, just like I realized you hide many things."

When Denzel denied it, Jones led him to a bench, where they sat.

"The teachers are talking a lot about you. Many good things. You are a good student, a nice boy… We were happy when Lucia made friendship with you, we all thought you were too lonely." Denzel smiled a little, just to it melt away a few seconds later "Richard Ryan and his friends has something to do with you avoiding people?"

The boy turned his face away again, keeping quiet. "One of your classmates got sick of seeing you getting picked on every day, so he told me. I can't do anything if you don't tell me."

"I can deal with it just fine. Rick and I have a history." It was surprising someone actually was uncomfortable with him being bullied.

"I'm sure you can, but do your guardians know about it?" the silence confirmed what Paul thought. "You need to trust someone, Denzel."

"Are we done?" Denzel's voice gone out a little harsh. Jones just nodded and watched him walk away; the boy would talk when he is ready.

Denzel went to take a shower, everyone was chatting or finishing it, some dismissed it, just wanting to go home soon. He made it quick, making sure he would not smell, after all, he had a date! Too bad he came to school with his black jeans and his old military green jacket (which was a little short on the sleeves), if he had planned to ask Lucia out he would have used something nicer.

He practically jogged like an idiot in the hallways, grinning like a retarded, not wanting to let Lucia waiting. He had just got out when his smile disappeared. A few feet from the stairs was Nanaki, ignoring how the students glared and avoided him. Denzel ran to him, his eyes widening a little.

"Nanaki, what are you doing here?"

"Tifa asked me to escort you back home. She is worried that you might be attacked in your way back"

"But how about Marlene!? Is she not in danger?" Nanaki noticed how Denzel's tone was getting gradually more impatient and panicked.

"We are supposed to go get her together"

The boy ran his hands on his hair "Tifa could have let me know about it…"

"She informed me she sent a text message to you"

"What!? No, she did not!" Denzel quickly got his phone from his pocked and checked his messages "Oh crap, she did…"

Nanaki opened a wolfish grin. The lion-like beast turned around. "Shall we go?"

Denzel panicked again. "No, no, no! Please Mr. Nanaki, can't you go pick up Marlene alone? I'm gonna be okay! I can take care of myself." Nanaki turned his head slightly, not understanding the boy's distress. "Please, I beg you. I have a-"

"Denzel!" Nanaki saw Denzel quiver and make a face similar to a pained one when the girl called him out. Lucia ran to them. "Ready to go? Huh?" Lucia saw Nanaki there and looked at him with curiosity "I didn't know you had a pet…"

Denzel was stunned. He moved his lips a bit, not knowing how to explain that Nanaki was not a pet, but a friend of his family. Also, he really wanted to make him leave so he and Lucia could stay alone. Lucia squatted in front of the lion- beast, petting him.

"What a beautiful red fur you have… You exercise a lot? You look very strong"

Great, now she was treating him like a dog, and Nanaki hated when it happened; it was not as bad as calling him 'red'. Looking at the two, Denzel saw that Nanaki was amused, not angry.

_'__Perfect, he knows…'_ Not perfect, actually. Just opened a window for more teasing in the future.

"Nanaki is a friend… From Cos-" Denzel stopped talking when he felt Nanaki rub his head on his leg, playing the part as a pet (okay, maybe like a guard hound). "Huh… Can you go get Marlene? I'm gonna hang out with Lucia today…"

Nanaki nodded and ran off in the opposite direction of them, Denzel just hoped he knew where Marlene's school was.

Looking around, he realized that his talk with Nanaki did not go unnoticed, many people stopped to watch the scene. Denzel stopped thinking about it when Lucia held his hand, pulling him a little.

"Come on, I know a great coffee shop near the central square!"

Denzel smiled and let himself be led "Okay, but it is my treat."

The shop was a quiet one on a bustling place. Denzel and Lucia got their order and sat near a window, the boy got a simple black coffee and a pastry while the girl a fancy iced coffee with ice cream and a big cupcake.

The teen encouraged her to keep talking, even though the subject was always school thing, probably the only thing they had in common. Denzel liked mathematics and physics, some chemistry too; Lucia liked literature and history best, she was more into intellectual and cultural stuff than he was.

"Ugh… I hate all that numbers and formulas; it makes me dizzy. How can you like that?"

"Just flow into me, I guess" he shrugged. "I think literature is kinda boring. Some books we have to read are slow and tedious."

"Impossible! Your Loveless report had a bigger grade than mine!"

"That one I liked. It is a good story, the play must be good too."

"Will you take me watch it someday?"

"I will, just wait me have the money!" he laughed. Lucia giggled and whispered a 'deal'. Denzel putted some of his hair away from his face.

"Hey! You have earrings too!" she pointed out the tree rings on his left ear. "I thought you just had the piercing."

Denzel sometimes forgot he had them. He lifted his hair on his right ear, showing her a single ring attached there. Then, he started telling the story of how he got all that rings on his ears. Originally were just a pair, one in each ear, he pierced the other two holes on his left ear when he took Marlene to pierce hers when he was fourteen. It was his present to her for her tenth birthday, but the little girl was scared, afraid it would hurt too much. To reassure her, Denzel pierced his ear, showing her it wasn't too bad.

"She pierced them?"

"Yeah, but her father threw a tantrum! I swore he was going to rip me apart…" the memory made Denzel shiver. "I swear… his bicep is the size of my head!"

Lucia giggled a little and Denzel made an effort to laugh too, the experience had been frightening. She looked the screen of her cellphone.

"It's late, I need to go home."

"I walk you there." Denzel paid the bill and they both got out of the shop.

The evening had a chilling wind, making Lucia shiver. Denzel was going to put an arm around her shoulders, but restrained himself, not wanting to send the wrong message to her. The traffic was erratic, he sudden realized that the bar probably was as erratic as well. He had deactivated his phone's ring, hopefully Tifa never called him for the rescue.

Denzel looked to Lucia when they stopped at a corner, waiting to the green signal; she took the opportunity to check her phone again, something on the screen made her smile, the boy hoped it was not a boyfriend. His worry disappeared suddenly, when his instincts got lighted up.

Looking around, he saw a small truck lose control and run past the red light, coming directly at them.

"Careful!"

Denzel grabbed Lucia's upper arms and threw her off the spot they were on, holding her close and using his body as a shield to hers. He rose his head after the sound of a crash, the nearby building and the post box had suffered the damage; some women were screaming and several people ran to the vehicle, seeing if they could help the driver.

"You okay?"

Lucia raised her gaze up to him, but her face still buried in his chest. Realizing his grip has too tight; he loosed it a little, enabling her to back up a little. When she didn't moved, Denzel helped her up, just to her hug him again. Without knowing what to, he hugged her back and started caressing her hair.

"Come on" he urged, "Your home is just a couple blocks away, right?" Lucia nodded, finally seeming to calm down.

Denzel rounded his arm over her and encouraged Lucia to walk. They walked in silence for the rest of the way. Lucia halted in front of a grey and mossy building; a few dirty pipes went up the high of the construction, attached on the concreate. Cleary the maintenance of the construction was a low priority; he just hoped the inside was more welcome and comfortable.

He felt a squeeze on his bicep.

"You are pretty strong, aren't you?" Denzel blushed a little at Lucia's statement. "How come? You are not the athletic type."

"Huh… Cloud was in the military, and Tifa knows how to fight. I asked them to teach me a few tricks."

"They taught you that awesome kick?" her face was lighted up.

_'__She saw it!'_ He made an effort to hide his astonishment. "That I just did. Don't know where it came from."

Her little giggle made him turn his head to the side, unconscious movement to hide his shyness around her.

"You know, I wanted to do this for some time" Denzel scratched the back of his neck as he talked. "Lucia, you are really pretty and nice. I found it strange a girl like you came talk to a nerdy guy like me, but I'm glad you did. I…" He coughed a little, cleaning his throat. "I like you."

That was the time he would have to approach the wall and hit his forehead several times until his stupidity leaked out from his ears. Why he was so straight in telling her that? It was too early! He should have waited another two dates to tell her. Maybe they could ignore each other for a few months before start talking again after today.

"I like you too…" Denzel's eyes widened a little and he blushed madly. Lucia was also blushed; she kept looking down and scratching the back of her hand. "You trust me?" Denzel nodded "Then, close your eyes."

He complied the request, not knowing what to expect. Lucia held his shoulders and kissed him, the surprise almost made Denzel jump. His first instinct was pushing her away and running away like his life depended on it, but instead he just wrapped his arms around Lucia end responded the kiss.

When the two of them separated, Lucia smiled and ran to the door of the apartment building. With a smile, she said 'See you tomorrow' and got in.

Denzel just stood there for a few minutes, dumbfounded. In just a few hours, he had his first date and his first kiss, with the same girl! A great girl! The shock was too great that he made his way back to the Seventh Heaven without noticing it.

Across the street, he could see a few customers getting inside the bar, he checked the hour on his phone. Six thirty and five missed calls! Tifa was going to kill him! He got in using the front entrance; maybe his guardian would not scold him if she were not the first thing he faced when he got in.

No such luck, near the entry sat Cloud, Marlene and Barret. The two adults were engaging a conversation while the little girl was busy with a book.

"Here's our lover boy!"

"How was your date?" Cloud's voice was less enthusiastic and loud than Barret's.

_'__Oh shit'_ "How you guys know that?!"

Cloud opened a small smile "Nanaki told us."

Denzel yelped, "Damn gossipy mutt!"

His mini outbreak ceased when a fabric was thrown in his face. The teen took the material from his head, realizing it was his apron.

"You can sort things out with Nanaki after work and our talk." Tifa was not upset, it looked like he engaged the teasing Barret and Cloud were doing "I want to know everything about your date."

"What?!" Everyone laughed, including the customers.

Denzel took a deep breath, trying to get rid from the shade of red in his face. He left his backpack and jacked inside the kitchen, putted the apron and went to work.

Soon, the bar was alive with loud chatting and music. Many people were getting in for the new hot drinks mix, all Tifa's recipes, the temperature was dropping more and more the last days, the drinks made easier to deal with the cold. Some customers recognized Denzel easily; a few knew him since he first started living there, these ones usually gave him big tips and never gave trouble.

Barret scratched his beard while watching Denzel discuss with a customer, who apparently had too many drinks.

"The kid is all grown up, never realized how much until I saw his recording on the VTS. He can kick some ass" The big man drank the rest of his beer "Took him long enough to find a girlfriend."

"Me and Tifa are having some trouble with him" Barret raised an eyebrow; Denzel had always been a good kid for them.

"Social service being a pain again?"

"No, it's him" Cloud pointed to Denzel with his head "He is keeping too many secrets from us, seems to be hiding something. It is becoming routine he come home injured and give lame excuses."

"Can't do many things about it. If he have a secret, you'll have to wait until he is ready to tell."

"We agreed with this, but the waiting his making me nervous and Tifa worried."

Barret realized that Cloud never wanted his advice for the subject, he just wanted to let some of the burden out from his shoulders. Adolescence is a tricky issue, the parents were never ready for it, especially if them never had the chance to go through it. Tifa was too busy plotting revenge against ShinRa with him while Cloud was the prisoner of a mad scientist.

The large man looked at his Marlene, deep in concentration listening music from her headphones and reading a book. He let a sigh and rubbed his temples, praying his little girl would make his life easy during her teenage years. Barret let out a big huff, the only ones who would have big problems would be the idiotic boys who will dare to hurt his baby girl's heart.

Fortunately, no client had to be kicked out, the ground rules were finally becoming common sense for all the regulars. Barret and Marlene had left hours ago, Cloud (for a change) decided to sleep early. The only ones awake were Tifa and Denzel, both busy cleaning the dishes and the tables.

Denzel got in the kitchen with the plastic tub full of dirty dishes, he putted them at the side of the sink and turned away, ready to get the bucked and the mop.

"Denzel" the boy responded with groan, just to let Tifa know he heard her. "how was your date?"

"Huh… It was good, I guess…" Denzel opened a big smile and his cheeks turned a light shade of red "I think I have a girlfriend now."

Tifa also smiled and hugged his back, looping her arms in front of Denzel's chest. The barmaid understood the need he had for keeping secrets, he was developing his sense of independence and individuality; probably he didn't realized how much she wanted to keep being part of his life. She guessed it was normal for teenagers do this, she wouldn't know. Good thing at least Denzel was having a normal youth.

It hit her like a sucker punch when she realized this time was gone. Sephiroth was back, no one knew when he would attack, and she had been proud when Denzel proved he could defend himself. How selfish she wore, so happy that he could fight alongside them, to face terrible danger, to sacrifice his youth for a battle. She tightened her embrace and rested her forehead on his shoulder.

"Please, don't keep doing this…" her cracked voice showed she was about to start crying.

"I don't understand" Denzel was confused by her sudden chance of humor. A minute ago she was happy and ready to tease him more, now she was sad.

"Please, pick up the phone when I call you. I know you want some privacy, but please, please let Nanaki accompany you when you go to school" Denzel felt her start trembling and some wetness on his shirt. "You can't take your materia and gun there, you are defenseless, and our enemy won't have mercy on you because you're a child." Tifa turned him around, knelling in front of him and hugging his head, just like if he was a small kid again. "Please Denzel, please don't take risks. Don't stay away until late. Don't sneak out in the morning. Don't lock your door. Please, don't drive me away, please… Please my little boy…"

Tifa never just cracked like this, it was so sudden that Denzel didn't even knew what to think. Never occurred to him that while he was having fun with Lucia she and Cloud were worried about him. He never knew how much his secrets were hurting them. Suddenly, all his need to scold Nanaki disappeared; after all, he had understood his need of having his time for himself that afternoon, but misunderstood Tifa's reasons for sending him. The guardian of the Cosmo Canyon probably had already been lectured for his acts.

Denzel hugged her back, he remembered what coach Jones had told him earlier about hiding secrets and trust. _'I'm sorry Teef. I have been having some problems at school, never told you that because it's nothing I can't handle. I go to Midgar to do some monster hunting on my sneak outs, not just to visit my parents; I do it for some money and training. I really like it, but I can stop if it worries you, or I can take Mr. Nanaki with me. I promise won't do this with you again.'_

If Denzel had the guts of telling her that outside of his mind would be great, instead, he just mumbled: "I'm sorry Teef. I promise I'll be careful."

XxXxXx

Deep down, one part of Lucrecia missed the bulky young man; no matter how scary and dangerous he was, something on him was innocent and truly caring, something that she felt Chase lacked. The man was older than her previous caretaker and ruder, the way he looked at her made her skin tremble in disgust.

The door creaked open, without a mark of time she could never tell when Chase would come to check up on her. He was average height, a little out of shape, but still strong.

"Time for your therapy, lady."

He moved her wheelchair away from the window, guiding her through the white-old corridors until they reached a room with a large bed and a few equipment for physical therapy; probably prepared to keep the health of the specimens that were used for the scientist who operated there.

Chase took her off from the wheelchair and putted her lying down on the stretcher; since Lucrecia didn't had the strength to support herself while sitting, Chase adjusted the back of it to help her do so. He sat on a stool, right beside her, and started massaging her arm, feeling the weakened muscles.

It was a surprise and her captor presented Chase to her, she never knew he cared so much about her well-being. Apparently, he was some kind of nurse, specialized in physiotherapy and a lab assistant; she never bothered asking. Sometimes he would ask her a few questions, try to engage a conversation, but Lucrecia ignored him most of the times, not believing Chase the good man he posed of; he knew she was there against her will, but never questioned it, even liked he had so much access to her, but never tried anything. At least not until the present time.

An hour later, Lucrecia was back on her wheelchair, refusing to lift a small weight to build up more strength on her wrists.

"Honey, you need to try to do this on your own." Chase let a sigh out when she turned her head away from him. "Don't be so cold to me; I'm just doing my job." After caressing her cheek, he got a hold on her and began doing the exercise she refused to do.

Lucrecia kept ignoring him and refusing to do the exercises until Chase decided they were finished; he had skipped the leg exercises, his boss wouldn't like his captive capable of running away. When they arrived in her room, Chase helped her lie down on the bed, not missing the chance of rubbing her tight. Her hair hid her face of disgust.

"Which month are we?" She took the opportunity to ask; maybe, different from the young man with silvery hair, he would answer this.

"December." The caretaker watched as the woman began to tremble and hid herself under the covers, not understanding the meaning of the question and the value of the answer. Chase left the room.

December. Lucrecia had to cover her face to hide the small smile of hope she opened. During her slumber inside the mako crystal, she had small lapses of half-awakening when Vincent visited her over the years. She remembered a particular one, when his red cape had dots of white and wet.

Vincent visited her during winter months! He soon would realize she was missing. When it happens, nothing in the planet will stop him from finding her.

XxXxXx

Paranoiac, that's how Denzel felt in the last days. Nothing bad had happened, actually, everything was great! Lucia and he were officially a couple and had a few dates after school hours; he allowed Nanaki accompany them, the lion beast knew how to respect their privacy and Lucia kept seeing him as Denzel's pet. Surprisingly, Nanaki even refrained to talk next to her, playing his part of a big dog with his owner.

It would be better if he didn't had the impression someone was following him. He had asked Nanaki if he sensed someone following them once, but he denied and told Denzel to calm down. How could he? He always felt this chill on the back of his neck every time he stepped out from home.

The paranoia made Denzel go to school with a hidden materia inside his pocket, it almost backfired him when he tripped and the small sphere almost fell out. He never did it again. He started to recluse himself a lot, never leaving to public places alone. The adults around him noticed his strange behavior, Nanaki explained the origin of his fear, just making Tifa blame herself a little because of her broke down from days earlier.

Not her fault. Denzel was going crazy because there was nothing that could prove his fear of being stalked was irrational. It would have probably popped up without Tifa's intervention.

At least he could carry his MPGS on the street, Reeve and Cloud had arranged a temporary WRO ID card for him, the kind of allowed him to carry a weapon in public places, but still not at school, the reasons were obvious. It gave him a little comfort have his trustful gun-sword with him when he needed to leave the secure of the indoors.

In that particular afternoon, he was alone in the Seventh Heaven together with Marlene. Tifa had phoned earlier and told him that she needed him to take care of the bar while she went downtown to do some shopping. Understandable, the Winter Holiday was close by, people wandered on the streets to buy the arrangements for the holidays and to receive loved ones. The bar opened 4pm in this time of year, it's doors opened for the tired and cold heat up their bones and rest a little.

His paranoia hit him so badly when Nanaki left with Tifa that Denzel had to put his materia belt to feel safe. His apron hid it from the view. Cloud would approve, you can never be too careful when the enemy was on the loose.

Right now, Denzel occupied himself checking the storeroom, to be certain that Tifa didn't forgot to add anything on her shop list. Marlene was in the bar, making sure everything was in place. The teen wanted to spend some more time with Lucia that day, fortunately she understood his duty and announced that she needed to do some stuff too.

The bell from the door rang. Denzel ignored it, knowing Marlene was perfectly capable of serving a client.

"DENZEL!"

Marlene's panicked scream made Denzel drop everything he was doing and run to the bar to see what scared the girl so much. It was not like her to give false alarms. He barely reached the counter when he froze.

In front of the closed door stood Loz, glaring at Marlene, who was holding a chair in front of her and trying using it to shield herself from him. When the silver-haired man noticed Denzel, he opened an evil smirk.

_'__Oh shit'_


End file.
